There are few Japanese businessmen who can claim to be more active in the international arena than Joichi Ito—a venture capitalist and angel investor who has reached where he is today by steadfastly hewing to his own path.

　　　　　Fondly called “Joi,” the 47-year-old Ito was born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1966. Dropping out of two prominent US colleges—Tufts University and the University of Chicago—Ito set up a number of successful IT-related corporations, and is credited with having immeasurably influenced Internet development in Japan. In 2011, he became the first Japanese named Director of the MIT Media Lab, concurrently serving as a board member of Sony Corporation and The New York Times Company.

　　　　　A multi-talented pioneer in the digital world, Joi has been kind enough to maintain a long-time friendship with this journalist, an unreformed representative of the analogue world. Last Friday, I invited him to my weekly “Genron TV” Internet news show.

　　　　　Joi first talked about his experience related to the 3/11 Fukushima catastrophe marked by the devastating tsunami and nuclear explosion:

　　　　　“At the time, I was home in Boston, and my wife and children were in Chiba Prefecture,” Joi recalled. “Because we grow most of our own vegetables in our garden in Boston, I was extremely concerned about the likely contamination of the soil in the area near the nuclear explosion. Turning to the Internet, I managed to swiftly organize a team of experts—people capable of making radiation detectors, experts in map reading, specialists in radiation, and so onto begin measuring pertinent data. We made a point of not discussing what was safe and what was unsafe under the circumstances. What was lacking the most then, we felt strongly, was precise data, so in rapid succession we dispatched our teams of experts to the disaster area with their radiation counters.”

　　　　　A group of experts, donning their white protective clothing and masks, was also dispatched to Fukushima to collect data by the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) administration. However, they quickly returned to Tokyo without bothering to explain to local residents what was at stake.

　　　　　“I’m afraid the approach the government took instilled a great deal of fear in the minds of Fukushima residents. Meanwhile, our experts cooperated closely with a number of residents, who also helped us tremendously. For example, postmen went on their rounds with radiation counters attached to their motorbikes, helping us collect precise data in a wide area. Consequently, just one month after the catastrophe, we managed to collect what was then the most thorough and reliable date in terms of quality and precision about radiation in Fukushima.”

　　　　　The number of spots where data were collected reached 30,000, culminating in a 190-page report.

　　　　　“Although Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which managed the Fukushima #1 Nuclear Power Station, and the newly established Reconstruction Agency initially regarded us with suspicion, they were apparently relieved as they began to recognize that the nature of our team activities was non-political. On our part, too, we fairly evaluated the work performed by the government as well as TEPCO employees, and felt they were coping surprisingly well with the very difficult situation.”

Biotech Will Change Human Behavior

　　　　　Data obtained through the radioactivity counters devised by the members of Joi’s team—known as “CAFECAST”—were made fully public, specifying which areas were safe and which weren’t. The disclosure of this information abated the worst fear among the residents—fear of not being able to ascertain the facts—providing them much-needed peace of mind, recalls Joi with a smile. Getting hold of the figures based on the facts empowered the residents in their efforts to rebuild their lives.

　　　　　Joi describes this method of seeking everyone’s contribution to fact-finding as “citizen science”—an approach which also proved effective in investigating the facts about air pollution in China.

　　　　　All of us are acutely aware that the Internet has been changing the world—whether we like it or not. However, Joi stresses that biotechnology is changing mankind’s fundamental behavior—far more than the Internet.

　　　　　“The era is just around the corner in which what we take for granted today will become completely obsolete,” observes Joi. “For instance, we will be able to ‘modify’ children in any way we wish.”

　　　　　In other words, Joi is noting that we will be able to readily manipulate the genes of ovum and sperm.

　　　　　“To completely analyze a person’s genomes in 2003 cost a whopping ￥270 billion (approximately US$2.25 billion). Now, it costs only ￥100,000 ($830). Just recently, a friend of mine began selling a gene-analyzing instrument for that price. Technology enabling not only analysis but also manipulation of genomic DNA used to be very costly, but is now available for just 30 dollars.”

　　　　　Joi is referring to a new technology with which to engineer DNA called the CRISPR system. Whether or not this technique can be applied to mankind has been hotly discussed. Can humans utilize it to cure a genetic disorder in an embryo, for instance? Explains Joi:

　　　　　“Because humans are naturally greedy, we constantly want bigger eyes and sharper brains, so to speak. In 1978, when the world’s first test-tube baby was conceived via in-vitro fertilization, Time Magazine made a big thing of it, featuring it on its cover. Heated arguments ensued. Today, however, in vitro fertilization has become so commonplace that insurance for the process can now be purchased. It is even possible to freeze the ovum, modify it with protein, and mix it with another ovum. Under such circumstances, it may be that the relation between marriage and children is going to become increasingly remote in the future.

　　　　　“It could even be possible to select the genes for an embryo at will and have a baby only when a couple wants. The current social framework under which people get married to have children, I suppose, is bound to change due to the further development of biotechnology.”

　　　　　In other words, Joi is predicting that marriage and our contemporary way of life most likely will undergo a sea change.

　　　　　Joi further predicts that within the next five to ten years, high school students could easily master recombinant gene technology for experiments using insects. It would be possible to develop and put into practice technology designed to reduce damage to farm products by manipulating the genes of insects that eat away at crops, causing them to dislike them .

Japan Can Be a Leader in Biotechnology

　　　　　At the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) in the US, some 2,000 high school and university students from the world over vie for supremacy in such skills as making organisms and bacteria capable of locating land mines. The sponsor of the first competition in 2003 was the FBI.

　　　　　“Students are engaged in a variety of research at our MIT Media Lab,” explains Joi. “The necessary information and gene components are available on the Internet. The students write their own programs, design them, print them, and then introduce the appropriate gene components to the bacteria. The bacteria will then run the program. This is street corner biology at work, which anyone should be able to perform in this day and age.”

　　　　　The FBI, which has made enemies of hackers, now has an eye on achieving more cooperative relations with members of the younger generation.

　　　　　“Being far riskier than the Internet, biotech requires strict ethical restraints,” notes Joi.　“Excessive legal controls are bound to discourage good people from research, while encouraging bad people to master biotech with every intention of making bad uses of it. Therefore, we must establish and propagate a strict ethical code instead of trying to implement control over it. Now is the time to engage in a serious debate on this matter.”

　　　　　We are not talking about science fiction in the distant future; this is what already is taking place right under our noses. The big question, therefore, is how we should cope with the rapid development of biotechnology, which is quite capable of radically changing the way we live as humans. Joi believes Japanese are well equipped to make the most of this challenging new era.

　　　　　“Japanese love science and have a stable society. Conflicts based on religious misunderstanding have been extremely rare. I strongly believe that Japanese, who have long lived by blending with nature rather than trying to oppose and overcome it, are more likely to thrive in the field of biotechnology than the people of nations who are driven by extreme religious beliefs or ideologies.”

　　　　　I find most encouraging Joi’s words that through biotechnology we Japanese may be able to demonstrate to the world better ways to maintain a well-balanced relationship between nature and man.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 664 in the July 23, 2015 issue of The Weekly Shincho)